Fine Selection
Note: This review is from 2013
Instead it’s an eclectic, mix of scenarios, simply presented, and linked by no other thread than what the team think is funny. It’s a pared-down, back-to-basics approach, broadly falling under the classification ‘silly’, but not exclusively so.
Almost inevitably, not every sketch is a winner– even after distilling the best of the past ten monthly shows for this festival collection – but the successes far outweigh the failures; and many of the best wouldn’t look out of place on an established TV sketch show. Favourite scenes involved confusing a maternity ward with a hideous genetic experiment, questioning an angry mob’s weapons of choice and a diagnosis of a worrying mutation.
One good trick is the preview of next week’s show: a great excuse for a parade of one-gag quickies with which to end the hour.
The team – Richard McKenzie, Celia Pacquola, Dave Bushell, Tegan Higginbotham, Andrew McClelland, Courteney Hocking, Ben McKenzie and Nick Caddaye – clearly enjoy both what they’re doing, and each other’s company, making the performance loose and relaxed. It means the show feels like eavesdropping on mates mucking around – which is very possibly what it is – and that, I guess, is a style in itself.
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Melbourne, April 2008.
Review date: 1 Jan 2013
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett